Inputs of the Government of Colombia to draft zero of the outcome document

In the opinion of the Government of Colombia, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) offers the international community a unique opportunity to renew its commitment to Agenda 21, identify new development models and define a mechanism for gauging the achievements and shortcomings in the endeavour to strike a balance between sustained socio-economic growth, on the one hand, and the sustainable use of natural resources and conservation of ecosystem services, on the other. Furthermore, the Rio+20 Conference will be an opportunity for the international community to finalize the definition of an institutional framework for the governance of sustainable development and design a structure for addressing both emerging and existing challenges.

In Colombia?s case Rio+20 coincides with a process of institutional reform in the environmental and social spheres aimed at strengthening the country?s sustainable development agenda while mainstreaming the environment in all socio-economic sectors. These changes reflect the country?s efforts to align itself increasingly with the tenets of the green economy as a means of achieving sustainable development.

Colombia believes that it is essential to build on the process embodied in Agenda 21. In 1992, the guiding principles and the road map for sustainable development were agreed upon; in 2002, the Plan of Implementation was worked out; it is now necessary to define goals for identifying gaps and needs, in order to forge ahead with a more structured implementation of the principles and targets defined 20 years ago. The international community urgently needs benchmarks so that it can harness and catalyse multidimensional and multisectoral approaches to addressing critical global challenges. Accordingly, Colombia has proposed, together with Guatemala, that one of the outcomes of the Rio Conference to be held in June 2012 should be the adoption of a set of Sustainable Development Goals, modelled on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), to help define the post-2015 framework.

I. The national preparatory process

In Colombia the preparatory process for the Rio+20 Conference is offering a valuable opportunity to assimilate and evaluate the country?s progress towards new, more sustainable paths of development. Aware of its huge potential in natural resources, Colombia is working on a set of policies and strategies to protect and capitalize upon that potential as a highly valuable asset for the future. The challenge facing the current Government, whose motto is ?Prosperity for All?, is to achieve a vision of development that promotes the sustainable use of natural resources and territorial harmonization in the framework of economic development and social equity. In terms of public policy, Colombia is discussing ways of incorporating the concept of the green economy and tailoring it to national realities and needs.

Colombia's position for Rio+20 is being prepared at the governmental level by a cross-cutting, inter-institutional group. As part of the national construction process, and in view of the priority given to involving civil society in this process, regional round tables on Rio+20 have been held in Colombia's main cities (Bogotá, Cali, Medellín and Barranquilla). In the first quarter of 2012, these debates will be continued in other locations around the country. The purpose is to generate an exchange with the various actors of civil society in order to contribute to debates within the Government on the green economy and environmental governance and to organize and strengthen parallel processes involving the main interest groups with a view to their participation in Rio+20. One of the tools designed to support this process is a website for exchanging information and concepts in relation to the preparatory process.

Colombia has decisively demonstrated its interest in the preparatory process for the Conference by submitting, jointly with Guatemala, the proposal on Sustainable Development Goals, which are intended to be a specific tool for applying the tenets of the Conference. The proposal also involves a commitment by the Government to address local issues and to incorporate the three main pillars of sustainable development into public policy, thereby demonstrating to the world its firm conviction that a green growth model is feasible. At the domestic level, Colombia is doing all it can to define and agree on indicators for measuring the implementation of the proposed goals.

In addition, the efforts being made by various interest groups in civil society should be noted. In particular, a great deal has been done by Colombian children, adolescents and young people to promote interaction and active dialogue with other social and institutional actors. It is intended that they should take part and even take the lead in sustainable development issues with a view to improving the quality of life and involving young people in green economy processes, in order to make progress in eradicating poverty by creating opportunities for children and youth.

II. Green economy

Colombia considers that the synergy between economic growth, social well-being and environmental harmony provides the motivation for efforts to identify financial mechanisms and political reforms that will facilitate the transition towards a low-carbon, resource-efficient economy and thus preserve our natural capital, increase our wealth, reduce poverty and progress towards social equity. We have been focusing on actions and on the implementation of green economy elements that help to meet sustainable development targets. Instead of prolonging debates about the definition of ?green economy?, each country needs to decide how to apply it, in order to achieve the sustainable development targets that it has already set itself.

One of the main outcomes of Rio+20 will be a renewed commitment to the parameters of sustainability, taking into account the environmental, social and economic dimensions. This must result in the design of public, private and mixed policy instruments, aimed at a more efficient use of natural resources, a reduction in emissions, the use of cleaner technologies, increased productivity and improved living conditions at the national, regional and global levels. At the same time, adequate information and knowledge will be needed to enable a correct evaluation of natural resources and ecosystem services as a basis for sustainable economic and social growth. These synergies between the three pillars are vital for making tangible progress in the reduction of poverty. This articulation of the three pillars must also strengthen the processes of technological transition and innovation.

With regard to the national application of these precepts, the Colombian Government, by means of its main planning tool ? the National Development Plan 2010-2014 ? is seeking to advance towards democratic prosperity, driven by five key sectors: Agriculture, mining and energy production, infrastructure, housing and innovation. Together these sectors make up the strategy of economic growth and competitiveness, a fundamental pillar for achieving greater well-being for the population in terms of poverty reduction, equal opportunities and the evening out of regional development. These economic growth mechanisms are closely linked to Colombia?s environmental and social policies. Accordingly, the goal of Colombia?s environmental policy for the period 2010-2014 is to ensure the recovery and maintenance of the country?s natural capital and its ecosystem services in order to sustain economic growth and boost the above-mentioned driving sectors.

The National Development Plan establishes approaches and strategic actions in five key areas for guaranteeing the environmental pillar of sustainable development: biodiversity and related ecosystem services; integrated water resource management; sectoral and urban environmental management; climate change; and good governance for environmental management. Each of these areas includes very specific objectives and indicators that need to be worked on in a cross-cutting manner. National targets are currently being defined for the following aspects: air and water quality; low-carbon development strategy and adaptation to climate change; forest conservation and restoration and the protection of river basins; territorial environmental planning and the establishment of the main ecological structure; prevention of deforestation and payment for environmental services; and the establishment of environmental units in each sectoral ministry. Colombia?s strategies for achieving environmental sustainability at the subnational level also include strengthening environmental planning in territorial management, promoting competitive and sustainable production processes, preventing and monitoring environmental degradation and strengthening the national environmental system for environmental governance.

The Colombian Government has established an environmental sustainability bureau in order to strengthen, in particular: innovation and the development of sustainable green businesses; innovation in clean technologies; economic, financial and fiscal instruments; promotion of the country as a sustainable tourist destination; investment in the environment as a source of economic growth; and sustainable use of biodiversity and genetic resources. The bureau's approach aims to empower all sectors involved in environmental issues and foster co-responsibility in decision-making.

III. Environmental institutions

The existing international environmental institutions are unable to promote the specific actions and strategies needed to articulate the three pillars of sustainable development. For Colombia there is no doubt that the three pillars are equally important and that the challenges of achieving more sustainable consumption and production patterns and reducing poverty can be met only by means of coordinated and balanced progress on all fronts. We are concerned at the large number of bodies and institutions with sustainable development mandates and their fragmentation. Colombia believes that a system needs to be created with the necessary capacities and mandate to assist countries with the implementation of their strategies, policies and specific actions. There is no point in continuing to negotiate texts on issues that have been under consideration for more than 20 years.

A first step towards building a more solid architecture would be to strengthen the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Colombia believes that it is very important to give UNEP more capacity to assist countries with the implementation of their multisectoral and multidimensional actions and policies in order to articulate the aims of the three pillars of sustainable development. Strengthening UNEP may involve assigning to it the functions of the Commission on Sustainable Development, which would then cease to exist. UNEP would take over the coordination of the many multilateral instruments related to the environment and sustainable development, with a view to promoting synergies, and it would report directly to the United Nations General Assembly. Its Governing Council would have universal membership instead of the present arrangement, under which 58 members are elected for four-year terms on the basis of geographical representation.

Although, according to the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, the Commission on Sustainable Development is the high-level United Nations body responsible for following up on sustainable development issues, in practice the Commission has not been fulfilling this function effectively. It has very little to show for lengthy negotiations, with highly limited inputs that fail to meet countries? actual needs. Moreover, the Commission?s findings must go through a long procedure before they reach the General Assembly, via the Economic and Social Council. In short, the arrangement has not proved to be efficient.

In principle, we do not see the need to create new bodies or entities, as the international sustainable development architecture is already highly fragmented; it would be better to look for ways and means of simplifying those mechanisms. Nevertheless, Colombia is open to considering any options that are developed during the preparatory process for the Rio de Janeiro Conference, to be held in June 2012.

IV. Proposal for Sustainable Development Goals

Colombia proposes that one of the key outcomes of the Rio+20 process should be the definition of and agreement on a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), modelled on the MDGs. These SDGs would translate the debate on the green economy and sustainable development into specific targets and tangible actions that would focus the wide-ranging discussion at the political level and would enable both the preparatory process, and the process resulting from Rio+20, to include key themes for which measurable progress would be crucial. Moreover, the focus of the SDGs would generate a number of additional benefits:

? Internationally agreed goals could be underpinned by targets ? as in the case of the MDGs ? and could later be translated into a series of indicators reflecting the various national realities and priorities. They would therefore be fully consonant with national contexts and, as such, could be a useful tool for guiding public policy.

? The SDGs would play an important role in identifying countries? shortcomings and needs, for example, in terms of the means of implementation, institutional strengthening and capacity-building to enhance their ability to absorb new technologies. Like the MDGs, the SDGs would be defined at the international level, and they could be used to compare results and pinpoint opportunities for cooperation, including South-South cooperation.

? The definition of the SDGs would help to give the Rio+20 preparatory process a sharper focus, which in turn would help the international community to achieve more substantive and specific results.

? A process implemented along these lines would build on both the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and Agenda 21.

? The SDGs would help to position the three pillars as cross-cutting blocks for development throughout the United Nations system.

The SDG proposal, presented jointly with the Government of Guatemala, is based on Agenda 21, a document which remains fully relevant today and provides an incomparable map of the requisite elements for achieving sustainable development.

The process of defining the SDGs should enrich as well as challenge, in an exercise that will allow the international community to examine a wide range of issues and concerns, prioritizing those that best represent the current needs for balancing socio-economic growth against the sustainable management of natural resources. The process should lead to the definition of a shortlist of key Goals, which can then be elaborated, after June 2012, by means of a series of targets, as in the case of the MDGs.

The Rio Conference would have a two-part outcome: first, a thematic or preliminary definition of the Sustainable Development Goals and, second, an agreement on a mandate to continue elaborating those Goals. One of the most important aspects would be the identification of a process that would run in tandem with the review of the MDGs ? an exercise that is imminent in that the MDG deadline is 2015. Working on both processes in a coordinated and convergent way offers a win-win situation: the post-2015 framework would be built both on the basis of the MDGs, a mechanism that has demonstrated its efficiency, as was pointed out earlier, and on the most important process ever undertaken by humanity to guide our well-being and our future along viable paths of long-term development ? in other words, the process that began exactly 20 years ago in Rio de Janeiro.